One Last Breath
by Naruto1217
Summary: This story starts in the middle of Sasuke and Itachi's fight, Naruto interrupts the fight. Later he learns of Jiraiya's mission to rain. Will the make it in time to save The Sannin? NaruSaku; Tragedy; Prelude to a later sequel; Rated M for strong Violence
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer:

Disclaimer:  
I do not own any of the characters from this story, they are owned by the creators of the hit Manga and Anime Series, Naruto.

Chapter 1 – Bonds that can Never be Repaired

With the curse seal level two surpassing, an exhausted and drained Sasuke collapses to the floor after taking another hit from Itachi's most power attack, the Amaterasu. "Long have I waited to escape this impending darkness," taunted Itachi. "I'm sorry Sasuke, but your dream will stay exactly what it is, a dream. My light will not go out."

Sasuke, now on his hands and knees, couldn't believe what has transpired here, at the Uchiha Hideout, the place of his ancestors, of his slaughtered clan. This was where he was supposed to make that murderer beg for his life, where he was supposed to avenge the entire clan. 'How could it end like this?' he thought. 'How could I not be strong enough? I sacrificed everything, I filled my life with hate and revenge to numb the pain and this is how it all ends.'

Itachi slowly raised Sasuke's chin and looked into his brother's eyes one last time. "My light will not go out," he said calmly, "but your life ends here. Goodbye Sasuke."

'So this will end everything?' thought Sasuke, while he looked into Itachi's eyes. As Itachi closed one eye to prepare one final Amaterasu, neither of them sensed the massive amount of chakra heading through the entrance.

"SASUKE!!" yelled Naruto as he jumped over his former comrade, landing a kick square in Itachi's jaw. Sasuke's eyes widened as he saw his brother's body fly back to the base of the throne and it was replaced with the sight of his former comrade standing in front of him.

"Na-Naruto?" said Sasuke in disbelief as he looked up at the figure standing before him.

"Sorry I'm late," replied the blonde shinobi with a grin, "I got held up by another one of these bastards."

"NARUTO!! STAY OUT OF THIS!! THIS IS MY FIGHT NOT YOURS—"

"IT'S AS MUCH MY FIGHT AS IT IS YOURS!! WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO GET THAT THROUGH YOUR HEAD!?" yelled Naruto with his back turned to the raven haired shinobi. Sasuke became deathly silent as Naruto sighed in frustration. "Sasuke, leave the rest to me."

Sasuke thought back to the last time his former teammate uttered those words, back when they fought Gaara of the Desert. 'There's no way this weakling's stronger than me. At least this will give me a chance to rest.'

Itachi wiped the blood from his lip as he slowly staggered to his feet. "So, you're finally here Naruto Uzumaki? Good, now I can grab my new eyes and seal the legacy of the Fourth Hokage away once and for all."

"Your Life Ends Here!!" replied Naruto as he got into his fighting stands, his eyes now flashing red and his whisker marks and fangs getting sharper and more predominant. "You will not kill Sasuke and you Won't Kill Me!!"

'This is very interesting,' thought Zetsu as he peered down at the people below, 'it looked like Sasuke was going down, but now the Kyuubi has entered the fight.' 'This is going to get very interesting.' 'Very interesting indeed.'

Naruto was careful not to look into Itachi's eyes or his torso to not get caught up in his Sharingan, and looked at Itachi's feet as he prepared to attack. "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!!" Suddenly, the room was filled with thirty Narutos, all with kunai in hand. They all began to diverge on the Uchiha.

"This is considerably pointless," as he made short work of the clones. However, when the last clone fell to the floor, there was no Naruto to be found. "But how? Where the hell did he go?"

Suddenly he felt a strong presence of chakra come from his back. "RASENSHURIKEN!!" yelled the blonde shinobi coming from his back. It missed however, as Itachi maneuvered out of the way just in the nick of time.

Naruto landed on his feet with the Rasenshuriken disappearing, but he was greeted by a sound he hoped he wouldn't hear. "Fire Element: Grand Fireball Jutsu!!" Naruto turned around to see a massive fireball heading toward his way. He tried to get out of the way, but his left arm was caught in the massive ball of fire and was severely burned.

Naruto stood toe to toe with the older Uchiha, gathering information from his dissipated clones as his left arm slowly began to heal. 'Ok, so an attack from behind didn't work,' he thought, 'which would mean that an attack from either side would have a similar if not the same affect.'

"Is that the best you can come up with Naruto Uzumaki?" taunted Itachi. The blonde's anger grew, but instead of letting it affect him, he turned it into determination. He made a familiar hand sign.

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!!" The room was once again filled with thirty Narutos, all coming in for another attack.

Instead of focusing on the clones coming into attack him, Itachi searched the room for the real one. After blocking five or six attacks, he noticed three Narutos standing away from the rest of them. 'That's it!' he thought, and quickly grabbed a shuriken and threw it at one of the clone, destroying it instantly. Naruto noticed and looked into the crowd, making a deadly mistake as his eyes caught Itachi's. "You're mine now." As he trapped the blonde in Tsukuyomi, the rest of the clones disappeared.

In the world of Tsukuyomi, Naruto was taken back to his childhood, back to when he was shunned by the rest of the village. He looked around to see everyone's back turned to him; Tsunade's, Jiraiya's, even Sakura's and Sasuke's. "None of them will ever really trust you," said a familiar voice. Itachi suddenly appeared from the mists of the darkness. "Try as you must you will never change how they see you." Naruto didn't' respond. "No matter how much you want to think its true, it will never become a reality." Again no response, not even a movement from the blonde. 'Something's not right.' He put his hand on Naruto's shoulder only to find that it was two dimensional. "No, it can't be!?"

In the real world, Itachi felt two hands grab at his ankles, and saw the Naruto that he was looking at disappear in a puff of smoke. 'A Shadow Clone,' he thought. Sudden he felt the ground beneath him begin to quake. He looked just in time to catch a Rasenshuriken to the head. The many cuts contorted and sliced the Akatuski member's face beyond recognition. His blood splattering everywhere as his body was held in place by a shadow clone.

Naruto landed on his feet panting after holding the clone that was trapped in Tsukuyomi, and putting together the Rasenshuriken underground. He gripped his left arm in pain and knelt down onto the floor as Itachi's body fell limp backwards onto the floor.

Sasuke could only look on in utter disbelief at the site of what had just happen right before his very eyes. 'How?' he thought as he stared at the shinobi in frount of him. 'How could this weakling who stayed in that pathetic village defeat him?' Anger started to swell up inside the young Uchiha. 'I Don't Understand!! How Could This Have Happened!? I SACRIFICED EVERYTHING!! I HAD SO MUCH HATRED!! SO MUCH REVENGE, YET THIS WEAKLING, THIS DEAD LAST, LOW CLASS IDIOT DEAFEATS HIM!?'

All this anger drove the Uchiha to try and stand up, but the enormous amount of pain made him fall back down, gaining the attention of Naruto. "Sasuke, it's time for you to comeback home."

The raven haired shinobi's eyes grew with even more anger. "I will never comeback to that pathetic village."

Naruto's anger and frustration grew. "But Why!? Your Clan Has Been Avenged!! WHY IN THE HELL WILL YOU—"

"BECAUSE OF YOU NARUTO!!" interrupted Sasuke, giving a deathly stare into Naruto now blue eyes. "You took away the one think most precious to me Naruto. YOU TOOK AWAY MY REVENGE!! But now I'm going to turn the rest of my revenge on you Naruto." Naruto eyes widened by his words. "I going to take away the most precious thing in the world to you."

As the two shinobi's stared at each other, Zetsu still watched from the top of the ceiling. 'Now's our chance to grab the Kyuubi.' As he was about to make his way down from the ceiling, he saw a group of Konoha ninja enter the room. 'Maybe now would not be the best time.' With that, the plant like creature left.

Sakura went over to check on Naruto, but caught Sasuke's eye about halfway to him. Sasuke looked back at the stunned kunoichi, only to have his vision blocked by Naruto who was now barely standing. The raven haired shinobi's eyes narrowed and as smile crept onto his face. 'So it's her?' he thought. His gaze turned to the rest of the Konoha Ninja. "I will never comeback to that pathetic village. The next time we meet I will burn Konoha to the ground!"

His gaze diverted back to the blue eyes of the blonde shinobi. 'You will feel the most pain out of them all,' he thought. "Until we meet again." And in that moment, Sasuke disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer:

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters from this story, they are owned by the creators of the hit Manga and Anime Series, Naruto.

Chapter 2 – No Time to Waste

Outside the Uchiha Hideout

Sasuke emerged in front of his teammates batter and bruised. They all were shocked at how burned his body was. Kisame was shocked to see the younger Uchiha still alive. 'If that kid's here, then that means…' Kisame lifted Shark Skin high above his head only to see the demon sword of Zabuza wielded by Suigetsu at his throat

"Don't even think about it," taunted the shark like teen. Karin and Juugo ran to Sasuke's side. 'Man,' thought Suigetsu, 'that must have been some hell of a battle if Sasuke can't even stand.'

"Sasuke are you okay?" asked a concerned Karin.

"I'm Fine!" spat Sasuke. He tried to stand again and again fell to the floor. Juugo and Karin each put one of Sasuke's arms around their shoulder. Slowly they both picked him off the ground.

"What happened in there?"

Sasuke looked down in despair, disgusted by his own efforts. "I don't want to talk about."

"Are you sure? Because—"

"I Said I Don't Want To Talk About It!!"

The sudden outburst got everyone's attention. Kisame, however, put the pieces together on his own. 'So,' he thought, 'the Kyuubi showed up after all. That means Itachi went with plan B.'

Karin was stunned at first, but she could tell there was something more. He had a different charka signature around him besides his own; one that she had felt while they were running through the woods. 'Konoha shinobi!' she thought.

'Soon you'll be one of us,' thought Kisame as the Hebi began to retreat. 'It's what your brother would have wanted in this situation.'

Sasuke began to lose consciousness, as they jump from branch to branch. He had one fleeting thought as he slowly drifted into the darkness. 'Naruto,' he thought, 'I will never forgive you.'

The Uchiha Hideout

Everyone was shocked by Sasuke's words. Burn Konoha to the ground!? They couldn't let that happen. But none of them had a chance to react as Sasuke disappeared.

"Sasuke!" Naruto lunged at the dissipating puff of smoke but then gripped his left arm in intense pain. "AHHGH!!" He fell to his knees once again, panting even harder now.

"Naruto!!" yelled Sakura out of concern. She gripped his shoulders and tried to help him breath a bit easier.

Hinata looked at the two of them in a little shock, but then a sad smile crept onto her face. 'So,' she thought, 'you're finally starting to see what I saw all along. He's loved you, he always has. And if you're starting to see what I have seen, then there is no chance for me.' A lone tear fell from the Hyuuga's face. 'Take care of him, he deserves so much more than what he's had in the past.'

"Let me see your arm," said Sakura, but all he could do was look away in sadness, shaking his head as he gripped said arm even tighter. Sakura could only look at him with a looked of concern and fear on her face as she slowly helped up the blonde. 'Naruto,' she thought, 'You used that jutsu again…didn't you?"

"What should we do now?" asked Kiba, breaking the silence.

"We head back to Konoha," said Kakashi now looking down at the dead body of the former Akastuki Member. 'It was you who drove him to this madness,' he thought in disgust. "and prepare for the worst. One good thing came from this mission," Kakashi slowly turned his head toward Naruto. "we got rid of one of the top shinobi of the Akatsuki."

Naruto nodded, but couldn't bring himself to smile. Just as they were about to leave, a long figure appeared to be hopping up the steps of the hideout.

"Be on your guard!" ordered Yamato, as they prepared for the worst. As the figure reached the top of the staircase it became clear that the group of shinobi had nothing to worry about. The large frog with the body of a scroll appeared In front of the group of Konoha nin.

"Tomoyashii?" said Naruto with a confussed look on his face. "What the hell are you doing here? Ero-sennin doesn't let you out unless were training…" Naruto then felt very uneasy. "Tomoyashii…Where is Ero-sennin?"

The frog just looked down at the blonde, trying to find the words to say. "Naruto…"

"Where Is Ero-Sennin!?" Everyone began to feel the fear and anger radiating from Naruto. No one could feel it more than Sakura. She was holding him up and could feel his anger rise. 'Naruto,' she thought.

"Naruto…I don't know how to tell you this…but he went up against the leader of the Akatsuki…in the Village Hidden in Rain."

"What Happened!?" asked Naruto, gritting his teath that were now shaped like fangs.

"He fought as hard as he could…but the Akatsuki leader was to much for him."

Naruto couldn't face the frog any longer and looked down in anguish. Everyone in the room was in shock by the news. "His last request," the frog continued, "was that you learn your combination from me in order to remove or strengthen the affect on the seal."

Naruto did not respond. Tears started to hit the floor as the realization started to sink in. "Naruto?" Sakura said as she held him tighter. 'How much pain does he have to go through in one day?' She thought.

"Then I guess we have to go and rescue him," replied Naruto as he lifted his head up to face the frog.

The rest of the shinobi in the room looked in shock. They thought he was just plain crazy. "Naruto, do you realize what you're saying?" asked Kakashi. "You are absolutely in no condition to fight!"

"That's for sure," barked Kiba. "You've fought two Akatsuki members in one day, and now you're gonna go after a thir—"

"I'm Not Going To Just Go Back To The Village And Let Him Die!!" yelled Naruto, cutting Kiba off before he could say anymore.

"This is shear madness," said Sai. "If we do this, one of us isn't coming back alive. I've been on plenty of missions like this with Root. This would clearly be considered and S-rank mission."

"I'm willing to take that risk," shot back the blonde. "Ero-sennin has done so much for me. I'm not going to let him die."

He looked at Kakashi who was debating with himself weather or not they should do this. 'If we do go through with this, I can't let team 8 go with us. We would be risking our own lives and Konoha can't afford anymore lives to be lost.' Kakashi finally came to a conclusion. "Kiba, you lead Hinata and Shino back to the village. The rest of you come with me." His gaze turned to Naruto, who smiled weakly. "There's no time to waste."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer:

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters from this story, they are owned by the creators of the hit Manga and Anime Series, Naruto.

Chapter 3 – Words that were Never Spoken

Jumping from tree to tree, the five remaining Konoha followed the frog to where the legendary toad sage had been slain. Kakashi was right behind the frog while Naruto and the others were not too far behind. Naruto could tell that Kakashi and Tomoyashii were discussing something, but the wind was blowing so fast that he couldn't hear what they were saying. Kakashi then nodded at the frog and looked back at the rest of the group. "We are about forty miles away from the Village Hidden in Rain. We're going to take a short rest to strategize and then make our way to the village."

Naruto groaned inwardly that they were going to take a rest, but decided not to argue. He knew that if they were going to have any success against this foe, they would have to be at 100 percent. 'Ero-sennin, hold on,' thought Naruto.

The team came across a large gap in-between trees, they all made it across with ease except Naruto. Already tired, Naruto tried to swing across one of the higher branches to gain more leverage. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but not thinking, he gripped it with his left hand. Instantly the arm grew numb as Naruto cried out in pain as he fell from the branch.

Sakura heard the blonde scream. She looked back just in time to see him fall from the branch. "Naurto!!" she cried in concern. The rest of the team heard her and looked back. Instantly, Yamato clapped his hands together and an extension of wood from the tree caught Naruto before he hit the ground.

Sakura, Sai and Kakashi jumped over and carried Naruto off the wooden plank so Yamato could dispel his jutsu. Kakashi looked at the unconscious Naruto in his arms. 'This isn't good,' he thought. 'If Naruto's not at 100 percent…'

He looked at Sakura who was staring at Naruto in shock at the severity of her friends' condition. She began to check his arm and found that it was extremely inflame near the ligaments in his wrist and elbow. 'I don't understand,' she thought. 'The Kyuubi should have already started to heal his arm. He's used this jutsu before. His arm healed quicker then.'

She looked at Kakashi and he nodded. "Alright," said Kakashi, "we're going to rest for a couple of hours. We're about twenty miles out of the Village Hidden in Rain and we need to strategies and rest if we're going to stand a chance against the leader of the Akatsuki."

Village Hidden in Rain

Zetsu arrived at the village and pulled himself out of the stone of the building where Pain and Konan were watching over the village. "What do you have to report?" said Pain, not even looking back to see the plant like creature."

"Itachi is dead," said the creature in the black cloak with red clouds. This caused Pain to turn and face Zetsu.

"He was defeated by his younger brother?" asked Pain.

"No," replied Zetsu. "He was about to defeat Sasuke." "But the Kyuubi interrupted the fight." "The Kyuubi defeated Itachi."

"And why didn't you grab him when you had the chance?"

"Konoha shinobi came in after the battle." "We had no time to catch him."

Pain had an angry look on his face, but then just smirked. "No matter. Madera entrusted me to get rid of the Kyuubi. It would be a shame to disappoint him."

"It gets better," continued Zetsu. "The Kyuubi is on his way here to save the Sannin."

"Is he now," Pain smirk slightly grew. "This is very interesting. I guess I will have to pull out my sensei's old body out of the river after all."

In the Forest

The team was resting after they had discussed their strategy and Naruto was sitting by himself, thinking about all that had happened in one day. He thought about Sasuke and how he said that he was going to most precious thing in the world to him. He shook his head and tried to get the thought out of his mind. 'I can't be thinking about that now,' he thought. 'I have to help Ero-sennin. We have to save him.'

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Sakura had sat next to him. It wasn't until she spoke that he even realized she was there. "Naruto?" The blonde turn and looked at her, taken out of his thoughts. She smiled and held her hands out in an attempt to check his arm. "Let me see your arm."

He reluctantly gave her his arm, and her hands began to glow green as she healed it. "Naruto, you can't keep using that jutsu."

He looked down in anguish. "Don't worry about me Sakura-chan," he said. "I know my own body. I can take care of myself."

"Why do you always act like a baka! I'm telling you that if you use that jutsu one more time with that arm you're going to loose all function in it for good!" Naurto then shot her a look that could kill. Sakura was taken back by this. She rarely saw him this serious, but it seemed to show more and more lately. 'Naruto?'

"I Don't Care!! As Long As I Can protect You That's All That Matters!!"

Sakura was really in shock now. Awe stricken, she couldn't take her gaze away from his deep sapphire eyes. She felt all of his emotions in them; fear, loss, loneliness, concern. She just couldn't find anything to say. "Naruto…"

"If I can protect you and keep you alive, I don't care if I loose all function in my body. I will protect you with my life." He began to walk away to grab his pack. 'As long as can love you until I die,' he thought, 'that's all that matters.'

Just as he was about to leave, he felt something grab his hand. He looked back to find her still gripping his wrist. Sakura again became lost in those eyes. She knew she had to say something. She couldn't just let him walk away. "Naruto, I…"

Kakashi interrupted the two before Sakura could even start. "Our rest stop is over," said the silver haired jounin. "If we want to save Jiraiya-sama we have to leave as soon as possible.

Sakura sub-consciously let go of Naruto's wrist. She noticed she did when he began to walk away again. She looked back at him and tried to say something. "Naru…" It was no use; she just couldn't say anything to his comments. All she could do was stare at his back until he put his pack on. 'Naruto,' she thought just before he was able to turn around. She went to pack her pack and the team headed for the Village Hidden in Rain.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer:

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters from this story, they are owned by the creators of the hit Manga and Anime Series, Naruto.

Chapter 4 – The Protector's Price

The team could feel the rain begin to his their face as they came closer and closer to the village. "Be on your guard," yelled Kakashi as the village came into view. "We don't know what we're up against." 'But if it's enough to defeat one of the legendary sannin, we've got a lot to be worried about.'

They landed in the village prepared to fight. "We're going to have to split up," ordered Kakashi. "Yamato, you and Sai take the-"

"There will be no need for that," said a deep voice. "I believe have found you."

The team looked up and saw two figures high up on top of a building. The figures were wearing black cloaks we red clouds on them. They could tell the voice was coming from the one with many piercings. The other was a female with blue hair.

"I take it you're the leader of the Akatsuki?" replied Kakashi.

"Awe, Kakashi Hatake," replied the red haired man, "your reputation precedes you." He looked over to the seemingly unsettled blonde. 'That's…'

The blonde was already beginning to get annoyed by the snide banter from the red haired man. "Grrr… Enough!! Where's Ero-sennin!?" hollered Naruto.

"Finally, the Kyuubi of Konoha," replied Pain. "If you are talking about Jiraiya-sensei, he's here, but barely living I'm afraid. If you want him back, why don't you come up here and get him."

Naurto was now becoming extremely angry. Every one of them could tell, but it was Kakashi who brought him back to his senses. "Don't worry Naruto," he said never taking his eyes off of his enemy, "We'll get him back."

Yamato was in the same state of mind as Kakashi. "There's two of them Kakashi," he said. "We should move to Plan B."

"Right. Naruto, Sakura, you two are with me. Sai, you're with Yamato."

"Understood," replied the three teens in unison.

Pain turned to Konan. "Take the black haired boy and the brown haired man. I'll deal with the Kyuubi and the other two."

"Understood Pain," replied Konan.

The two Akatsuki members dropped down from the rooftop and the battle began. Yamato immediately clapped his hands together and wood sprouted up from the ground, catching the blue haired woman in mid-air. Sai drew three birds with his ink.

"Ninga Art: Great Beast Paintings," he said calmly. Instantly, the three birds flew off the scroll and made their way toward Konan. However, Konan had nothing to fear. She gave a smirk and separated herself into many different pieces of paper, dodging the oncoming attack from the three birds.

The pieces of paper began to swirl around Sai. Yamato looked at the spectacle if front of him. 'A genjutsu?' he thought. His ideas of it being a genjutsu were quickly put to rest as one of the pieces of paper folded up into an origami shuriken grazed his arm and sliced it open. He gripped his arm and looked at the wound. 'It's minor. It shouldn't affect me to much.' He looked back over at Sai, who was being sliced up by the many origami shuriken. 'I have to give Sai time to prepare but how?' He had to act quickly. He clapped his hands again.

"Wood Element: Four Pillar Prison Jutsu!!" Suddenly, Sai was protected by a wooden box. He understood what the captain was trying to do and began to draw as fast as possible. On the outside, the origami shuriken began to change their target and swirled around Yamato. One by one the shuriken attacked him, but he held his ground and held his jutsu. 'Hurry up Sai,' he thought.

Back in the inside of the wooden box, Sai was just about done drawing. 'This should be enough to take her on,' he thought. He put his hand up to his face. Outside, Yamato felt the small surge of chakra from the box, and dispelled the jutsu to reveal Sai with his longest scroll he had ever seen him use. "Ninja Art: 1000 Humming Bird Paintings!!" Instantly, the 1000 humming birds came flying off of the page, and charged the many different pieces of origami.

The many pieces of paper that were Konan tried to react, but were ripped and pecked at by the many birds. When she finally reassimilated herself, a heaving Konan was battered and bloody from the many pecks from the birds.

Pain blocked another kick from Kakashi as Sakura came in from behind with another chakra punch. Naruto came in with a kunai in hand, leaping over Kakashi. Without even looking at either Naruto or Sakura, Pain ducked out of the way leaving Sakura's Chakra punch to collide with Naruto's face.

Naruto skidded across the floor until it vanish into a puff of smoke in front of the real Naruto who had two other clones next to him, helping him make the Razenshuriken. 'Damn it! Come on!' he thought. 'I have to make this thing faster!'

Kakashi withdrew alittle, as Sakura slid across the floor next to him. "We have to try a different approach," ordered Kakashi. "We have to get him off balance some how." Kakashi bit his thumb and pulled out a scroll and slammed his palm into. "Earth Tracking Fang Jutsu!"

Pain looked around for the attack, but couldn't find it until he felt the earth shake underneath him. Instantly he jumped up just in the nick of time to dodge the dogs that came up from under the ground. "Now Sakura!!" yelled Kakashi, which caught Pain off guard and caused him to look up and his eyes widen. What he failed to realize earlier was Sakura jumping up into the air and now coming down to connect her chakra filled fist with his head.

He tried to duck her fist but it connected head on. Pain was sent hurling to the ground. Once the smoke had cleared, Sakura looked at her handy work only to find a split log. 'A Substitution Jutsu!' she thought but she had not time think as Pain had already started his counter attack.

He appeared behind Kakashi without either of them knowing and made a couple of hand signs. "Wind Style: Cyclone Blow Jutsu!!" Kakashi was hurled off the ground and sent right into a now blocking Sakura and knocked her down. Kakashi, still in the air, hit the wall with incredible force. The many cracks and broken pieces of the wall followed as his limp, unconscious body fell to the floor with a sick thud.

Sakura slowly got to her knees. She looked up and saw Pain doing a couple more hand signs and then saw the chakra begin to overflow like a river in his right hand. "This should finish you off," he taunted and began his charge.

Sakura knelt on the floor, paralyzed with fear as she saw Pain come closer and closer. She could feel the pain from the attack that had not yet hit her. Instantly he was in front of her. As Pain's attack came down for the kill, Sakura ducked her head and tried to shield herself from the fatal blow.

"SAKURA-CHAN!!" she heard. Then the attack made contact. She felt no pain. She opened her eyes and looked at herself. She saw that she was covered in blood that was not her own. She saw blood dripping onto the floor. Shocked and scared, she looked up.

There stood Naruto between her and the attack that had went clean through Naruto's chest and back. He looked back at her and weakly smiled as the blood began to seep out of his mouth. "Sakura-Chan," he whispered. Tears started to roll down her face as she began to realize what had happened.

"NARUTO!!," she screamed in horror.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer:

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters from this story, they are owned by the creators of the hit Manga and Anime Series, Naruto.

Chapter 5 – A Final Memory

Sakura looked at the blonde protector standing before her; blocking her from harm. The tears kept flowing down her face; it appeared they would never stop. Naruto weak smile soon faded as he felt the pain from his adversaries attack. There was no mistake about it; he knew he was about to die.

He looked the Akatsuki leader in the eyes, as if he was staring death itself in the face. His smile was a taunting one. "If I'm…going down," he said as he grabbed the black cloak with his left hand, "I'M TAKING YOU WITH ME!!"

Pain looked at the blonde jinchuuriki. It was then that he noticed what the blonde had meant. In the young man's right hand was a Rasenshuriken waiting to strike. 'I have to get away,' thought Pain. He tried to escape but he couldn't move. The blondes grip was too much.

The red haired man looked blonde's face and his expression turned to sheer horror. The eyes of the jinchuuriki were blood red and his teeth were now sharp fangs. "This is it for you," said the blonde in a demonic tone. "YOU'RE MINE!!" With those words he plunged the Rasenshuriken into Pain's chest. Pain squirmed in agony at the initial contact. Naruto let go of the Akatsuki leaders robes and sent him flying into the wall of a building.

The wall cracked and gave way as the impact of the attack propelled the body into it. Pain slid down to the floor from the wall as blood started to seep from his chest. he coughed up some blood and looked at his counterpart; still standing, heaving out breaths as he spit out blood. The Akatsuki leader looked at him in shock. 'How could this boy still be standing after an attack like that?' thought Pain. 'He should be at least on the floor, writhing in pain.'

Sakura looked up at Naruto who was still standing. 'Naruto,' she thought as the tears kept coming down. 'How can you still be standing?' her eyes widened as she remembered their argument earlier.

"_I Don't Care!! As Long As I Can Protect You That's All That Matters!! If I can protect you and keep you alive, I don't care if I loose all function in my body. I will protect you with my life._"

She began to cry harder; now knowing how the blonde was able stay on his feet. "Naruto!" she cried. "Naruto Please! I'm Fine You Can Rest Now!!" But he wouldn't respond.

It was not that he wouldn't listen to her. It was the fact that he couldn't hear her. He was on the brink of loosing consciousness. All he did was look at his adversary. 'Please Fox,' thought the blonde. 'Please leave me standing just long enough to let me know that she's aright.'

Konan reassimilated herself beside Pain. She wrapped his arm around her neck and helped him to his feet. He looked at the blonde and stared into his now blue eyes. "This is not over," said the Akatsuki leader. "You will be ours." And with that, the two Akasuki members fled.

At that point, Naruto knew that she was aright and finally let the darkness over take him. He felt himself falling backward onto the floor. As he fell, his mind drifted him back into the past; back to the farthest memory he could think of.

He opened the eyes of his mind and saw a red haired woman holding him in her arms. "_Naruto,_" she said to him in the sweetest voice he had ever heard. He then saw her face contort in pain and felt the doctors pull him away from her. He felt the tears streaming down his face as if they were real. He was crying.

The doctor that was holding placed him into the arms of a blonde haired man. Naruto recognized the man's sad face as the tears started to fall from his eyes. "_My dear Kushina,_" said the Fourth Hokage, "_please forgive me for what I am about to do._" He looked down at the blonde baby in his arms; the tears that were now streaming down his face faster now.

"_I ask you to forgive me too,_" sniffled the Yondaime. "_Please forgive me for not being there for you while you grow. I know that you will grow to be a great man. I can feel it. You are a strong one and you will make a great Hokage one day._" It was then that they felt the hospital room quake, but the Yondaime never took his eyes off of Naruto. "_I will miss you most of all (Sniffle) my only—_"

"_Hokage-sama!!_" screamed the silver haired ANBU crouched in the window. "_It's coming too close to the village!! We need you now!!_"

The Hokage looked at the ANBU with the tears still streaming down his face. "_Kakashi,_" he said now in a more stable voice, "_take care of him. He will need someone like you to guide him while I'm gone._"

Kakashi looked down at the window sill in sorrow; knowing full well that his would be last time he'd see his sensei. "_Yes Sensei,_" he said wavering. "_I promise._"

The Hokage look more at ease and fled out the window with the baby in his arms.

Naruto's body fell into Sakura's lap with a sickening thud. "NARUTO!!" she cried as she saw the hole dangerously close to his heart. "Naruto!! Please Wake Up!!" She began to heal the horrific wound. His breathing was hitched and ragged. His chest was heaving, even though he was letting out such short breaths.

"Please," she sniffled, "Please don't leave!!" she had healed him as much as she could and she was now cradling his head in her arms. "Please don't die…" her voice began to trail off as she began to brake down. 'Please don't die because of me.'

By now Kakashi was at her side along with Sai and Yamato, who had already retrieved a half beaten Jiraiya. He knelt down and felt the boy's wrist. There was still a pulse, but it was very weak. Kakashi could remember the day of the Kyuubi attack as if it were yesterday. Tears began to slowly fall from his eyes as he remember the final promise he made to his sensei in that final hour.

'I'm sorry sensei,' he thought. 'I have failed you and broken that promise in more ways than one. I didn't take care of him the way that I could have. I left him to fend for himself in his early years. I didn't train him the way I should have. I was so caught up him in training Sasuke that I didn't think about the promise I made to you. I have failed in so many ways and I ask you to please forgive me sensei. Please forgive me for not taking care of your only son.'

He knew that if they had any hopes of saving him, they had to leave as soon as possible. He gently tugged on Sakura's shoulder. She looked up at him with red, puffy eyes. It was then she notice that Kakashi was crying. "Sakura," he said, his voice gentle but still stern, "If we leave now we can still save him."

She nodded at her former sensei and picked Naruto up and put him on her back. Kakashi tried to help her, but she wouldn't let him. "No," she said still crying as her voice wavered, "I'll take him." Kakashi nodded and the team fled for Konoha as fast as they could. The entire trip back they didn't stop. 'Please,' she thought, 'please…don't leave me…Naruto.'


End file.
